Rotary steam-engine.



W. S. TRIGGSVJB- ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SBPTJO, 1912.

1,057,900. Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. S. TRIGGS, JR.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1912.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Qvmzmo WILLIAM STANCE TRIGGS, JR, OF CLARA, MISSISSIPPI.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

Application filed September 10, 1912. Serial No. 719,611.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, WILLIAM STANCE Tnrcos, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Clara, in the county of Wayne and State of Mississippi, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rotary Steam- Engines, of which the following is a speclfication.

This invention relates to a rota engine, the" main object being to re uce the amount of valve mechanism necessary to the operation of the engine.

A further object is the provision of a rotary piston and means for apply ng steam or other expansible' fluid to thesald piston so that it may be rotated in reverse dlrections at the will of the operator.

A still further ob ect is to provide valves adapted to be operated by direct engagement with the rotary piston rotor so that positive action of the valve is obtained and wherein the simplicity of the structure is a notable feature.

Another object is to provide readily operable means for rendering said valves either operative or inoperative in order to determine the direction of rotation of the rotor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide'valves adapted to admit steam to the expansion chambers of the rotor in sudden puffs which impinge directly against the active faces of the impact heads provided therein.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevatlon' of the device with the front cover removed, and showing the rotor in section and one of the valve plungers operative. Fig. 2 is a similar view, a section being taken through a different portion of the rotor, and the other valve plunger being in operative position. Fig. 3

- is a top plan view of the device. Fi 1 1s a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. view of one of the valve plungers.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a steam-tight casing 1 having a cylindrical chamber 2 therein in which the piston or rotor 3 mounted upon a shaft 3 is adapted to rotate, the outer periphery 4 of the said rotor being adapted to steam Fig. 5 is a detail perspective bear evenly against the inner ri he 5 of the said chamber. The roto1 3 is di vided .into two transverse sections 6 and 7. In the section 6 of the rotor diametrically opposite,-

and oppositely facing impact heads 8 are formed, their active faces 9 being slightly concaved so as to be more forcibly engaged by the steam upon its impact therewith. Expansion chambers 10 are formed in the section 6 in communication with the active faces 9 b providing semirircumferential grooves W ose inner faces are inclined outwardly toward the outer periphery of said section of the rotor and intersect the same at points adjacent the intersection of the active faces of the impact heads therewith. By providing these inclined faces in the expansion chambers, operating cam faces 11 are provided ,for a purpose which will be more fully described hereinafter. The other section 7 of the rotor is provided with the oppositely facing impact heads 12 which are each arranged adjacent one of the impact heads of the other section and face oppositely to the same, the active faces 13 being thus provided. Expansion chambers 14 are formed likewise in section and operating cam faces 15. p

A steam chest 16 is mounted upon the casing 1 and has an intake port 17 provided in its top wall 18 for the admissionof steam provide the 4 into the same. -A longitudinal groove 19 extends across the bottom of the wall 20 of the her 26 secured within the steam chest upon the bottom wall thereof. The port openings 23 and 24 are adapted to register with the expansion chambers 10 and 14, in the rotor sections 6 and 7, respectively. A rectangular vertically extending valve opening 27 is provided in the bottom wall of the steam chest near the front end thereof and opens into the rotor chamber 2, a cylindrical opening 28 is provided in the top wall of the steam chest in alinement with the opening 27. A valve plunger 29 having a rectangular lower portion 30 and a reduced, cylindrical upper port-ion 31 is mounted within the steam chest so that its rectangular portion is movablewithin the openings 27 and a vertical guideway 32 provided in the corresponding face of the bridge member 26, and its reduced portion is movable within the opening 28 in the top of the steam chest.

, get in engagement with the operating cam faces 11 of therotor section 6. A longitudinal groove orv portway 36h; provided in the side face of the rectangular portion 30 of the plunger so as to face the active facesofthe active heads of rotor section 6 upon of the plunger and is imposed between the rotation of the rotor in the direction of the arrow a in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

A second valve plunger 37 havi a rectangular lower portion 38, a cylindrical upper portion 39, and a shoulder 40 provided at the juncture thereof is adapted for vertical sliding ;movement within the steam chest, its lower portion bein received by a rectangular opening 41 in t e bot-tom wall of the steam chest and its upper cylindrical portion being movable within a cylindrical opening l2 in the top wall thereof. A heli-, cal sprlng 43 surrounds the reduced portion shoulder 40 and the top wall sores to normally hold the plungerin its lowermost position with its' downwardly and out wardly beveled active face 44 in engagement with the operating cam faces 15.0f the rotor section 7. A. vertical portwav or groove as is provided in the outer side face of the rectangular portion of the valve plunger 37 on the opposite sidefrom the portway in the other valve plunger.

A pair of parallel, horizontally extending operatin shafts 4:6 and d7 are journaled in suitable earings mounted upon the top of the steam chest. A lift finger48 is attached to the shaft 46 at one side of the opening 27 in the top of the steam chest and is received by a vertical slot 49 provided in the protrudin upper portion of the valve plunger 29, an a second lift finger 50 is secured to the shaft 47 adjacent the opening 42 in the top wall of the steam chest for enga ement within a verticalslot 51v ro'vided in t e protruding upper portion 0 the plunger'37. A

hand lever or crank 52 is fixed to one end of the shaft 4.7 and is intermediately connected by means of a connecting rod 53 to a shorter crank arm o liattached, to thecorresponding end of the'shaft 4,6,the, said connecting rod being pivoted to the. respective cranks by means of'the pivoted pins 55 and 56.

The steam. to be used in my improved on gine is conducted from a suitable source to the steam chestthrough a pipe '57 which is osaooo connected to the intake portion 1? and has lever or crank 52 is thrown to the left, as

shown in Fig. l, in order to. operate the rotor inthe direction of the arrow 0:, lift fingers 50 thus serving to elevate the valve plunger 37 so that its active face is out of engagement with the'rotor and communication is closed between the "steam chest and the expansion chambers 14 in the section 7 of the rotor. The valve 58 .isthen opened so as to admit steam tot-he steam chest and the said steam will pass down through the portway 36 in the plunger to one of the expansion chambers 10 in the section 6 of the *rotor where it will impinge against the cor responding active face 9 of one of the impact heads 8 in the form of sudden puffs. The'impact of the steam will cause the rotor to rotate in the direction of the arrow 'a'and. I

as it rotates the cam face 11 will'force the f plunger outwardly until it reaches the'outer Y surface of the other impact head'S where the valve will be completely closed. Further rotation will cause the plunger to drop into the deep portion of the other expansion chamber, thus admitting anothenpuif of steam to the same by the consequent opening of the valve. lit will be seen that steam will be admitted through the portway pro vided in the valve plunger into that portion of. one of. the expansion chambers which'is I disposed in advance of the said plunger, the

steam within the portion of the expansion chamber disposed at the opposite side of 'the valve plunger will be simultaneously exhausted through the port opening 23 and the port 21. This operation will continue without interruption until the steam is cut ofi'f in order to reverse the direction of the rotor, the hand lever 52 is drawn to the right, in which event the valve plunger 29 will be elevated into inoperative-position and the other valve plunger 37 w lldropinto operative position. -The regulating valve 58 is then opened and the steam will be admitted to the .steam chest and ass chambers 14 in the section 7 of the rotor, the rotor being thus turned in the reverse direction as shcwnhy the arrow 5 due to the impact of steamia" ainstthe active faces 13' of the impact-bee s 12;

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a simpleand-readily operable construction of rotor andwivalvei mechanism.

What is claimed is: I

1. In an engine of the anaesthetist-the combination of a) hollow casing, a rotor journaled in said casing, said rotor being provided with a pair of sections provided with expansion chambers and oppositely disposed impact heads, a valve chamber provided uponsaid casing and having an exhaust compartment communicating with. both rotor sections, said chamber being provided with relatively, spaced valve openings disposed on opposite sides of the exhaust compartment and establishing communication between the intake compartment of the chamber and the respective rotor sections within the casing, and a valve plunger mounted for reciprocation within each of said openings, each valve being provided with means for directing steam into the expansion chambers of the corresponding rotor section on the opposite side of the said plunger from the exhaust compartment when the plunger-dis in open position.

2. In an engine of the class described, the combination of a hollow casing, a rotor journaled in said casing, said rotor being divided into a pair of sections having oppositely disposed impact heads, a valve chamben'formed on said casing, valve plungers movable within said chamber, each plunger being adapted to operatively engage one of the rotor sections, means tending normally to maintain each plunger in engagement with its respective rotor section, a lift finger pivoted to the valve casing and engageable with each valve plunger, and means by which said fingers may be oppositely oscillated to release one plunger and render the same operative and to draw the other outwardly into inoperative position.

3. In an engine of the class described, the combination of a hollow casing, a rotor journaled in said casing, said rotor being divided into a pair of sections having oppositely disposed impact heads, a valve chamber formed on said casing, valve plungers movable within said chamber, each plunger being adapted to' operatively engage one of the rotor sections, means tending normally to maintain each plunger in engagement with its respective rotor section, a lift finger pivoted to the valve casing and engageable with each valve plunger, means by which said finger may be oppositelyoscillated to release one plunger and render the same operative and to draw the other outwardly into inoperative position, and means for securing the said lift fingers in their different, oppositely adjusted positions.

4. In an engine of the class described, the combination of a hollow casing, a rotor journaled in said casing, said rotor being divided into a pair of sections having oppositely disposed impact heads, a valve chamber formed on'said casing, valve plungers movable within said chamber, each plunger being adapted to operatively engage one of the rotor sections, means tending normally to maintain each plunger in engagement with its respective rotor section, a lift finger pivoted to the valve casing and engageable with each valve plunger, means by which one of said fingers may be operated, and means connecting said finger with the companion finger to cause opposite movement of the latter.

5. In an engine of the class described, the combination of a hollow casing, a rotor journaled in said casing, said rotor being divided into a air of sections having oppositely dispose impact heads, a valve chamber formed on'said casing, valve plungers movable within said chamber, each plunger being adapted to operatively engage one of the rotor sections,'means tending normally to maintain eachplunger in engage- I ment with its respective rotorsection, a lift finger pivoted to the valve casing and engageable with each valve plunger, means by which one of said fingers may be operated, means connecting said finger with the companion finger to cause opposite movement of the latter, and means for securing the operating means in its adjusted positions.

6. In an engine ofthe class described, the combination of a hollow casing, a rotor journaled in said casing, said rotor being divided into a pair vof sections having oppositely disposed impact heads, a valve chamber formed on said casing, valve plungers movable within said chamber, each plunger being adapted to operatively engage one of the rotor sections, means tending normally to maintain each plunger in engagement with its respective rotor section, a lift fin er pivoted to the valvecasing and engagea le with each valve plunger, each of said plungers being provided with longitudinal slots, a lift finger pivoted to the valve casingexteriorly. thereof and engageable in the slot of each valve-plunger, and means by which either finger -ma y be moved outwardly in engagement withfthe outer end of the corresponding plunger slot and the other finger will be moved inwardly into inoperative posit-ion.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses W. D. 'Aiivswonrrr, E. W. Vrox. 

